NOVPUB(Still not fully written, please wait for half an hour and refresh. The author sincerely apologizes.)
The extraordinarily unfair exchange of fire lasted six rounds. To be precise, it should be said that the French Army volleyed six rounds, while the opposing side only managed four.
With the fierce bombardment of the French Army’s cannons added, large gaps quickly appeared in the Austrian Army’s line formation.
No one knows who was the first to turn around and flee, but the action immediately provoked the surrounding Austrian soldiers to follow. Within minutes, the chaos spread to the entire infantry line.
Prince Coburg hastily ordered the second infantry line at the rear to step forward and hold the line, but what he did not expect was that the French Army’s horizontal formation immediately contracted into over a dozen vertical columns, piercing through the fleeing Austrian soldiers and charging directly towards the rear line.
The soldiers in the back line were completely unprepared. Even as the French columns were deploying, many of them were still carrying out the previous order—to move forward and replace the positions held by the retreating soldiers. Others were stopping in place, preparing to counterattack.
Thus, in front of the French Army now was a crooked, disorganized infantry line.
The battle outcome was beyond suspense.
Even an orderly Austrian infantry line could not withstand the ferocious assault from the French Royal Legion, let alone such a fragmented formation.
In less than 20 minutes, the infantry line that Prince Coburg had just organized fell apart once again.
Prince Coburg initially hoped to hold on until Gruber’s elite troops returned—the moment he discovered the French Army, he had immediately issued the retreat order to Gruber—but the ferociousness of the French exceeded his expectations. In just over an hour, his forces had been broken.
A dozen guards swiftly hoisted Prince Coburg onto horseback, shielding him as he retreated towards Brussels.
However, as they ran two to three kilometers ahead, they saw chaos unfolding in front of them—it seemed Davidoivich’s Dutch Army was also under attack.
Prince Coburg felt darkness envelop him.
The French somehow managed to gather so many troops, leaving even Brussels at risk.
He hurriedly ordered a turn southeast towards Leuven.
Unbeknownst to him, the forces attacking the Dutch Army consisted of merely three cavalry battalions—just over 300 men—the entirety of the cavalry that Joseph had brought to the Southern Netherlands.
Yet, after Prince Coburg’s mainforces were attacked, he immediately ordered the Dutch to converge towards him. The Dutch Army, who were even less disciplined than the Austrian Army, quickly fragmented into over ten splinter groups once Davidoivich urged faster marching.
When the French cavalry appeared, the Dutch fell into panic, entirely abandoning organized defense to scatter and flee in every direction.
The fleeing soldiers spread news of a "French general assault" to more of their comrades.
Thus, Davidoivich’s forward force of nearly ten thousand soldiers was routed by just three cavalry battalions.
This also provided Prince Coburg with inaccurate information, leading him to mistakenly believe the Dutch troops behind him had also encountered a large French force. As a result, he decided to flee to Leuven.
Elsewhere, Lefevre heaved a sigh of relief as he watched the Austrian soldiers scattering like headless flies, all the while admiring the Crown Prince’s decision.
If they had followed Lefevre’s proposal of holding their ground at Wavre, even in the best-case scenario, they would now be engaged in fierce combat against the fully concentrated Austrian Army.
Although Lefevre believed he could command 20,000 French troops to defeat the over 40,000 Austro-Dutch Allied Forces, any positional warfare would drag on for at least a week or longer, as long as Prince Coburg didn’t make any errors.
But now, adding the marching time, Lefevre had defeated the Allied Forces within half a day.
He immediately issued orders to the messenger: "Have Renault’s regiment stay behind to pursue the routed enemy while everyone else rallies and returns to Mafnie Town."
"Yes, General!"
Lefevre knew that Wavre only had less than 2,000 French soldiers at this moment, exhausted individuals alongside 4,000 Walloon Police.
If Prince Coburg’s forward troops chose not to fall back to reinforce this side but instead continued their risky assault on Wavre, the situation could grow dire.
Thus, Lefevre’s most prudent course was to immediately lead the main force to reinforce Wavre; while this might allow many Austrian soldiers to escape, it would at least arrest the Austrian troops advancing on Wavre and ensure its safety.
As Lefevre’s main force moved southward for barely four kilometers, the reconnaissance cavalry suddenly reported back, saying that nearly ten thousand Austrian troops were approaching head-on...
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(Still not fully written, please wait for half an hour and refresh. Deep apologies.)
The Battle of Sergio, which took place from April 24 to April 28, 1794, was fought between the First Republic Army of the West led by General Pierre Yadar Demerbyon and the Sardinian and Austrian Allied Forces commanded by Joseph Nicholas Devins and Michelangelo Colli. The battle marked a successful offensive by the French Army, with André Massena showcasing his tactical brilliance in successfully encircling enemy positions. Sergio is located approximately 70 kilometers (43 miles) northeast of Nice, France.
Since September 1792, the Sardinian Army had maintained tenacious defenses around Solzi against relentless waves of French attacks. It wasn’t until early April 1794 that the French Army shifted to an offensive strategy along the Italian Riviera, advancing northeastward to seize the small port of Onelia. From there, Massena surged northward, occupying two towns upstream in the Tanaro Valley, then maneuvered westward to envelop Austrian positions around Sergio. Following combat, the Piedmontese had no choice but to retreat to the northern side of Tende Pass, already under French control. At this time, General Demerbyon’s forces occupied most of the Italian Riviera. This campaign was historically significant, both as part of warfare during the French Wars of Liberty and as the stage where newly appointed artillery general Napoleon Bonaparte implemented pivotal plans for assault.
Due to the strategic locations of Nice and northern Savoy within the Alps on the French side, the Kingdom of Sardinia faced substantial disadvantages in its war against the French Revolutionary Army. King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia, acutely aware of his precarious position, pursued diplomatic negotiations with the French while simultaneously seeking an alliance with Austria’s Habsburgs.
During the summer, King Victor Amadeus III resorted to desperate bargaining with Austria for military assistance. By September 22, Austria finally agreed to send General Count Leopoldo Lorenzo with an auxiliary corps of 8,000 soldiers to provide reinforcements. However, their arrival proved far too late.
